I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances.

Short Responsory

We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.

– We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.

We recount your wonderful deeds.

– We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– We give thanks to you, O God, and call upon your name.

Canticle

Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread. (Year B)

Or: Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.

He has raised up the sign of salvation

in the house of his servant David,

as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,

his prophets through the ages:

to rescue us from our enemies

and all who hate us,

to take pity on our fathers,

to remember his holy covenant

and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,

that he would give himself to us,

that we could serve him without fear

– freed from the hands of our enemies –

in uprightness and holiness before him,

for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:

for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,

to let his people know their salvation,

so that their sins may be forgiven.

Through the bottomless mercy of our God,

one born on high will visit us

to give light to those who walk in darkness,

who live in the shadow of death;

to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread. (Year B)

Or: Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life.

Prayers and intercessions

Let us thank our Saviour, who came into this world that God might be with us.

– We praise you, O Lord, and we thank you.

We welcome you with praise, you are the Daystar, the first fruits from the dead:

let us rise with you to walk in the light of Easter.

– We praise you, O Lord, and we thank you.

Help us on this day of rest to see goodness in all your creatures:

open our eyes and our hearts to your love in the world.

– We praise you, O Lord, and we thank you.

Lord, we meet around your table as your family:

help us to see that our bitterness is forgotten, our discord is resolved, and our sins are forgiven.

– We praise you, O Lord, and we thank you.

We pray for all Christian families:

may your Spirit deepen their unity in faith and love.

– We praise you, O Lord, and we thank you.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

We recognize with joy

that you, Lord, created us,

and that you guide us by your providence.

In your unfailing kindness, support us in our prayer:

renew your life within us,

guard it and make it bear fruit for eternity.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

AMEN

The psalms and canticles here are our own translation. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The Universalis downloads do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.